


Warlords Don't Get Scared

by Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst and Feels, Animals like Lloyd and you can't convince me otherwise, Gen, He's okay tho, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Just for like a second, Little Lloyd, Lloyd can have a little kindness just as a treat, Lloyd nearly freezes to death, Near Death Experiences, Original Character(s), Wrote the in like three hours lol, do not repost to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21/pseuds/Leonardo_Charles_BlueWood_21
Summary: No matter what anyone said, Lloyd knew he was the evilest person out there. Just as evil as his dad was, and someday he was going to grow up to be an evil warlord just like him and take revenge on everyone who'd ever laughed at him or told him he wasn't bad enough.But first he had to find shelter from the snowstorm.OrLloyd gets expelled from Darkley's and almost freezes to death out in the snow(Big oof bro)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 99





	Warlords Don't Get Scared

Lloyd was not scared. 

Being scared meant you were stupid and he was _not_ stupid. He was going to be an evil warlord, he didn’t _get_ scared. 

He trudged through the snow, his cape fluttering behind him, Darkley’s Boarding School for Bad Boys getting further and further away every time he looked back. 

_Whatever_ , he glared at the building one more time before looking away. He never liked it there anyways. They were dumb. He didn’t need their help to become an evil warlord, he could do it on his own and he’d come back when he was bigger and show them just how dumb they were. 

He kept his eyes forward, head held high until it was out of sight. By then his toes had started to hurt and his teeth were chattering so hard he thought he might get a concussion. Concussions were bad, and not in a good bad--not in an _evil_ \--way, so he let his arms wrap around himself. 

Lloyd was not scared. 

He was cold though. 

  
(Evil Warlords got cold right?) 

(Yeah, they could get cold. He could be cold.) 

_Not evil enough_ , they said. Ha! He was the evilest! They didn’t know what they were talking about. He was the baddest, he was gonna be the most evil villain of all time and show them how wrong they were to kick him out! 

_Just you wait_ , Lloyd thought to himself. 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when his foot caught on something, tripping him and he yelped as he fell forward, throwing his arms out in front of him to catch himself as he landed in the snow. A freezing gust of wind caught his cape and flipped it over his head so he couldn’t see for a moment and the cold went right through his long-sleeved shirt making him shiver. 

(So cold, so cold, so cold--)

He pushed himself back onto his feet, pulling his numb fingers out from the crunchy snow. He tried to wiggle them but they were getting really hard to move and he frowned at them. 

He looked away from his fingers and up at the darkening sky as cold snowflakes landed on his face, stinging his skin where they touched. He reached up and wiped away the moisture from the melted snowflakes harshly. 

“I’m Lloyd Garmadon!” he yelled at the wind and snow around him. “I’m the evilest there is!”

“I’m not scared!” he added, just in case it was getting any ideas. 

With one finally glare at the sky, he wrapped his cape around himself and stumbled forward, clutching it tightly in order to keep it wrapped around him while the wind tried to tug it out of his hands. 

He wished he’d eaten something before he’d left. He really wanted some of the candy he had stored under his bed, but they hadn’t let him grab anything on his way out. He really hoped _Brad_ wasn’t the one to find his super secret stash of candy. 

He still felt cold after a while, but he’d stopped shivering now, so that was a good sign, right? He still couldn’t move his fingers very well though and it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open the longer he walked, so… maybe not. 

(Was he dying?)

Lloyd wasn’t scared. 

He wasn’t. 

He wondered if his fingers and toes were going to fall off like some of his classmates had told them they would when they locked him in the freezer for a few hours. He hadn’t been scared then either, but he could still feel his finger and toes that time. He wasn’t even sure if he had toes anymore. 

“M’ not scared,” he mumbled to himself, much quieter than he meant to. He shook his head to try and wake himself up and his brow furrowed as he watched the ground turn under him. He wasn’t sure where to put his feet to compensate for the motion and ended up falling again. 

He pushed himself to his feet, not bothering to brush the snow off his hands since he couldn’t feel them anyway and started forward again, slowly. He couldn’t quite remember what direction he had been walking in, but didn’t think it mattered. He hadn’t been going anywhere in particular, right?

Somehow he reached a town. All the doors were shut and had snow drifts pressed up against them. The townsfolk were probably all hiding away from the storm. He didn’t see a single soul in the deserted area. 

He thought about picking the closest door and demanding they let him inside and force them to share their blankets and warm house but he didn’t have the energy to yell. He was just going to take a nap first, then he’d make them help--make them give him what he wanted. 

He placed one snow covered foot in front of the other until he’d reached a suitable alleyway nestled between a few houses that provided some shelter from the wind. Now that he wasn’t right out amidst the biting breeze he already felt a little warmer.

There was a place without snow on the ground, sheltered by a balcony above it. He half-fell onto the clear dusty ground, only managing to catch himself at the last second. His arms were moving a lot slower than they usually did. He was really tired. 

He blinked slowly, wondering when he had closed his eyes then shifted so he was sitting down, leaning back against the wall instead of on his hands and knees and wrapped his cape around himself a little tighter. 

He wasn’t ready to close his eyes, but they shut anyways.

Lloyd wasn’t scared. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He wasn’t.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


______________

  
  


Marcy wasn’t fond of walking in such weather, but Peach still hadn’t come back inside and she was getting a little worried about him. Usually he could handle himself just fine, but this was a blizzard and she knew it was too cold, even for his thick fluffy fur. 

So here she was, outside, in a literal blizzard, bundled up in nearly every piece of clothing she owned and a lantern clutched in one mittened hand. 

It was hard to see, but not easy to get lost in the village where she’d lived her whole life, so she wasn’t worried about that. 

“Peach?” she called into the swirling snowflakes. “Peach! Where are you?” 

There was no sign of him for several minutes in which she alternated in-between calling his name and listening intently for any response. Finally she heard something though. 

A distant familiar yowling meow caught her ears and she turned and headed in the direction that it had come from. 

“Peach, I’m coming!” she called. 

“Mrow!” yowled Peach. 

Marcy had to fight to keep the smile off her face. Silly cat, he was lucky she loved him so much. 

She stumbled into a sheltered alleyway, holding her lamp up to better see in the near pitch-black area and the light reflected off her cat’s eyes from where he sat a short distance away. 

“Come on then,” she called to him with an amused huff. “Let’s get you home, silly.” 

Peach meowed, but made no move towards her. 

Marcy’s brow furrowed at his odd behavior. Usually he wouldn’t hesitate for a second before jumping into her arms, not unless he was injured. A stab of worry shot through her and she hurried forward. 

“What’s wrong, Peach? Are you hurt?” 

Peach watched her silently as she approached, tail swishing from where he sat atop some sort of pile of blankets. Who would leave a pile of blankets in an alley? 

When the light from her lantern fully fell on the shape he was sitting on, she abruptly realized that it was not a pile of blankets at all. Her eyes widened, horror making her gasp as she looked at the small child curled up in a ball that Peach was sitting on, looking up at her patiently. 

She rushed forward and fell to her knees in front of them, hands fluttering over the child’s unmoving form. What on earth were they doing outside--? 

Peach meowed mournfully and finally relinquished his position atop the child to allow her to check their pulse. 

Her heart nearly stopped when she couldn’t find any, but she shook of her fear and got to her feet, scooping up the frozen child and cradling them to her chest as she turned, fumbling with the lantern for a moment and pausing only long enough for Peach to climb onto her shoulders before she was hurrying back the way she had come. 

There was still a chance they might be alive. There had been instances before when the villagers had thought their children to be frozen to death, only for them to breathe again once brought back into warmth. 

She only hoped it would be the same for this one.

  
  
  
  
  


__________________

  
  
  
  


Lloyd woke up slowly. 

Wherever he was it was warm and comfy and he sighed contentedly, snuggling further into the warmth that surrounded him. 

Something brushed across his face, tickling his nose and he scrunched up his face before sneezing.

“ _Meow._ ” 

Lloyd opened his eyes, blinking slowly. His gaze was met with a fluffy grey cat that watched him with round blue eyes, tail swishing slowly. It tilted it’s head and blinked slowly back at him. 

“Hello,” Lloyd said, his voice scratchy. 

“ _Meow_ ,” said the cat again and leaned it’s head forward to boop their noses together. 

Lloyd giggled. 

“Peach, what are you doing?” came a voice and Lloyd tensed, snapping his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep as the person approached. 

“Silly cat,” the voice said fondly. 

“Mrow,” said Peach. He could feel it when the cat left it’s spot by his head. 

There was a moment of silence. 

“I know you’re awake, kid,” the person said, sounding amused. 

Lloyd huffed in annoyance and scowled. He was perfectly good at pretending to be asleep! He’d fooled his teachers plenty of times! 

He rolled onto his back and tried to sit up, only ending up struggling with the layers of blankets that cocooned around him and keeping him trapped. He flopped back against the couch that he was laying on and scowled at the person hovering over him. 

She had long curly red hair that had some beads in it that were sparkly and trying to distract him but he wouldn’t let himself be distracted by pretty beads. 

“Release me!” he demanded, with a defiant glare. 

She just raised an eyebrow and her lips twitched up into a smile. “Sure, just give me a second and I’ll have you free in a jiffy.” 

Peach meowed and he shot the cat a betrayed look. It only sat down on the small coffee table that rested a foot away and started cleaning it’s paw. 

It took a second but she finally untangled the blankets from around him and he was free to move again. 

He sat up and almost opened his mouth to thank her but snapped it shut at the last second. Evil warlords did not say thank you. Instead he huffed. “Took you long enough.” 

That only seemed to amuse her more and he felt a stab of annoyance and scrambled onto his feet, totally not almost falling off the couch and planted his hands on his hips, staring up at her in a confident manner. 

“Who are you?” he demanded. 

She bit back a smile and he would have been angry if it weren’t for the fact that it faded quickly and she answered. “I’m Marcy, and this is Peach.” She gestured to the cat who meowed then turned back to him. “And who do I have the honor of addressing?” 

He puffed out his chest, liking how he felt when she used the word ‘addressing.’ It made him feel important. “I’m Lloyd Garmadon!” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Lloyd. Do you wanna tell me what you’re doing away from home?”

“That’s none of your business,” Lloyd sneered, sticking his tongue out at her for good measure. 

Oddly enough she didn’t seem phased by his evil behaviour. 

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, ordinarily you’d be right. But I saved your life, so that means that it is very much my business now.” 

Lloyd frowned, but… she did have a point. Now that he was wam and awake he knew he probably would have frozen to death. It wasn’t certain, but it was more likely than not. So… he guessed he did owe her. 

“I’m being evil,” he finally answered. 

“Amazing,” Marcy said with appropriate awe in her voice. 

“It is,” he sniffed, tilting his chin up. 

“Where did you come from?” She asked, curiously. 

“Darkley’s Boarding School for Bad Boys,” he rehearsed, not noticing her worried grimace. “I left because I was too evil for them! They couldn’t handle me.” 

“I’m sure,” she said with a reassuring smile that made him bristle but also want to smile back. Which was bad, evil warlords didn’t smile unless it was at the suffering of their enemies, so he made sure to scowl extra hard. 

“Where are your parents?” Marcy asked. 

“My dad’s in the underworld,” he said proudly. “He’s gonna take over Ninjago, and I’m gonna grow up to be just like him!” 

“Where’s your mom?” 

Lloyd scowled, crossing his arms across his chest. “On an archaeological dig.” He looked at her, daring her to say something. 

“Uh huh,” she said, with the look that he didn’t like. People usually gave it when he talked about his mom. 

“She’s a good mom!” he told her loudly, unfolding his arms and clenching his fists at his side as he glared at her. She just looked at him calmly and he suddenly felt like he’d done something wrong. He looked down, voice quieter. “She loves me.” 

“I’m glad she loves you, Lloyd,” Macy said softly. “Do you have any way to contact her?” 

He scowled again before shaking his head. “No.” 

Marcy pursed her lips. 

“She’s super busy,” Lloyd told her. “And I’m ten. My teachers would usually call her, but I don’t go to school anymore, so they can’t do that anymore.” 

“I see.” Marcy seemed to be thinking hard about something. Did warlords let people think? Should he interrupt her thinking? No, evil warlords had to let their victims think or they would never see that surrender was the only option. 

He folded his arms again and let her think. 

“Do you know if they’ll call her to tell her that you’ve outgrown your old school?” She finally asked. 

“I--” Lloyd stopped. He… didn’t think so. The evil thing to do would be to not tell her. And they were an evil school so they wouldn’t call her. But… then how would she know to come for him? 

No. No, it was fine. Evil warlords didn’t need their mom’s to babysit them. Besides, she was super busy with her archeology digs, and he didn’t want to pull her away from that. 

He resolutely glared at her. “Doesn’t matter.” 

“And why’s that?” 

“Because, I can be evil without my mom. And she’s busy. She knows I can handle myself!” 

For some reason that seemed to make Marcy look sad. He felt bad for a moment before remembering that evil warlords didn’t feel bad unless it was the evil kind of bad and pushed the feeling away, scowling again. 

“Well,” Marcy started cautiously. “Even someone as horrifyingly evil as yourself must need a warm place to stay while it snows…” 

He squinted at her suspiciously, wondering where she was going with this. “I guess so…” 

“And since you’re already here…” 

He squinted harder. 

She huffed a laugh and smiled. “I’m saying that you can stay here as long as you like, Lloyd.” 

“Oh.” He blinked. “Thank--I mean--” he shook his head. “An evil warlord accepts no help from peasants!” 

“I have chocolate.” 

Lloyd squinted. “What… kind of chocolate? 

  
  
  


___________________

  
  
  
  


Marcy’s chocolate was good. So was her cooking, but he couldn’t tell her that. She seemed to know anyway though. He made sure to slurp the soup she gave him really loudly. 

After supper he climbed back onto the couch while Marcy washed the dishes (ha! Evil! Not helping with dishes!) and burrowed back into the pile of blankets that she’d released him from earlier. Peach joined him, curling up on his lap and letting him pet him and purring happily. 

Lloyd was so distracted by the cat he didn’t notice Marcy approach until she was setting down a mug in front of him, making him jump. 

“I wasn’t scared!” he blurted defensively. 

She looked at him and he stared right back, unable to take the words back so he put a scowl on his face. 

“Okay,” Marcy said, sitting down next to him. 

“I wasn’t!” Lloyd exclaimed. 

“I believe you.” 

It didn’t feel like she believed him and he huffed in annoyance before grabbing the mug of hot chocolate and sipping it with loud slurps, louder than his soup slurps. 

Marcy’s lips twitched and she took a loud sip of her own hot chocolate. 

Lloyd felt a little better after that. 

Peach purred. 

  
  
  


___________________

  
  
  
  
  


He waited until he was sure Marcy was asleep before sneaking out the window. 

Peach watched him as he struggled to open it, tail swishing and tried to follow him out when he slipped through. 

“No, Peach,” he whispered. “You have to stay here.” 

Peach tilted his head. 

“I can’t stay here,” he told him. “I’ve got to go before she changes her mind.” 

“Meow.” 

“People always change their minds,” he said apologetically. “Besides! I’ve got to go be evil, and I can’t do that here!” 

Peach sat down and blinked slowly. 

“Bye, Peach,” Lloyd said. “I’ll see you later.” He made sure to blink back slowly before slipping the rest of the way out of the window, sliding it shut just far enough to keep Peach from getting out, but not closing it all the way just to be evil and let the cold air in. 

He didn’t see the figure leaning in the doorway, watching him leave with a sad look on their face. 

“Goodbye, Lloyd,” Marcy said softly. 

The snow crunched under Lloyd’s shoes and he wrapped the cloak he’d stolen around himself a little tighter. He was a lot warmer now and ready to start taking over Ninjago. 

He’d be so evil and awesome that they wouldn’t be able to ignore him. 

(Then they would see him as somebody important enough to keep.)

  
  
  
  
  


______________________

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this kid's backstory has so much potential for angst, you had to have seen this coming. 
> 
> (Yeet a keysmash at me, I live for comments lksdfmad)


End file.
